Beginning Sept. 1, residents of Texas have a slew of new laws they need to be aware of. Hundreds of bills were approved during the 2023 legislative session covering topics from education equity and inclusion offices to new road measures. Legislators also determined how to spend the $321.3 billion state budget — using it to pay for infrastructure, broadband and tax cuts.
Here’s a look at some of the more notable laws:
Medicaid
HB 12 expands Medicaid coverage to 12 months after childbirth for low-income Texans. While the law technically took effect in June, its future hinges on federal approval, which has yet to be granted.
Schools
SB 17 bans diversity, equity and inclusion offices as well as diversity-related training or programs offered by higher education centers in the state.
Voting
SB 1599 requires election officials to tell voters if there are errors in their mail-in ballots or ballot applications and to let them know how to submit correct forms via mail, online or in person.
HB 357 changes the information voters need to provide to use the state’s online tracking tool to keep track of their mail-in ballot.
LGBTQ
SB 12 will criminalize performers and businesses that host sexually explicit shows performed in front of children. Lawmakers chose to remove language from the bill that aimed it directly at drag performers but left in language regarding accessories that “exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics.”
SB 15 bars transgender college athletes from competing on a sports team that does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. The law specifically applies to games that happen between colleges and not intramural sports.
Road laws
House Bill 1885 came from a 2021 pileup of 133 vehicles caused by poor visibility and slippery conditions. It would allow Texas Department of Transportation engineers to temporarily adjust highway or road speed limits based on weather conditions or road construction without permission from the state’s transportation commissioners.
Schools
SB 17 bans diversity, equity and inclusion offices as well as diversity-related training or programs offered by higher education centers in the state.
Abortion
SB 24 funds a network of crisis pregnancy centers — some of them religiously affiliated — throughout Texas as part of the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program.
Local government
HB 2126, signed in June, keeps cities and counties from creating local ordinances that go beyond what already exists in state law.
HB 17 will stop elected prosecutors who do not want to pursue certain cases.
Internet
HB 9 aims to expand internet availability, telecommunications services and 911 services to rural Texans by allocating $1.5 billion to an infrastructure fund.
Drugs
HB 6 allows prosecutors to pursue murder charges against Texans who have provided someone a fatal dose of fentanyl by classifying the overdose as “poisoning.”
